jothefw

You obviously live in a very different area of England. Having fought the joyous M1 and then A1 I can't say you get anyway quickly. My SIL lives in picturesque Wiltshire, kids go to school 12 miles away and it can take 40 mins to get there

paddyo

Yes OP....it HAS turned into a UK v Oz posting!!!
I must say though that I found Curlys posting quite rude. Quote "I've never commented on any of your posts before, I'd like to ask if the UK is so perfect and you're there living on Cloud 9 why are you always on here?
I'm perfectly happy where I'm living too, yet don't feel the need to slag off anybody else's choice of home Also I don't hang around in the 'Moving back to the UK forum!'

He never slagged anyone off. He also has as much right as anybody to post on here as he was an expat and anyway this forum is open to all. When ever I hear the term 'slag off' it makes me think less of the person saying it especially when it is completely wrong and stated in a defensive manner.
The OP made a subjective assessment of their experience going back to UK, some people agree with it and can emphasise and some people disagree and can't see the same vision. That's all cool. We all choose to leave or stay or visit based upon our own experiences. As I stated before I love our life here, but I do miss the UK, warts and all.
Its good to debate but as soon as its gets to a bullying stage, which it nearly has here, then that's when you need to look at yourselves and think what you are saying. Mob mentality does rule on BE sometimes.

kmthor

well said paddyo. ill second what you have said

bcworld

Ill third it...the old 'if your life is so great why are you always on BE' line is about as lame an argument as you can get because its generally thrown at people with a lot of posts who you don't agree with but never at people with a lot of posts who you do agree with!

paddyo

cheers....oh, hold on...are we now a Mob???? :0

moneypenny20

Can we move on and cancel the lynch mob for another day please. Merci buckets.

jad n rich

Oh dont stop the fun, we haven't even compared penis size yet, nobody has mentioned the phrase 'world class' and not a single 'worlds best city/town/village survey' has been dragged out for the 43rd time.

hawk2005

I went back in May., to the North West, Scotland and the West Country

I found that

it was a lot cleaner than last time I was back
The supermarkets were scruffier than I remembered
The pubs were so cheap, and the beer (Robinsons) was so good and easy to drink
The atmosphere at the lower league football game was better than at any sporting event I have attended over here
Meeting old friends was great, it was like we had only seen them a couple of weeks before (rather than several years)
The drivers were light years better than they are in Australia, and the traffic flowed, considering the volume of vehicles, much better
The faster speed limits make it so much easier and quicker to get places, without always having to watch out for some revenue raising speed camera.
The eating options on car journeys were very poor - there is much more choice in Australia
Trucks in the UK are fast and well driven, in Australia they are lumbering dinosaurs driven by neandertals
The roads seemed really narrow in the UK, even streets I used to think were wide
Single track sunken roads in Devon are freaky, especially when you meet a tractor coming the other way
The sea was browny grey, not blue
The Jeremy Kyle show was great - his subject material was grotesquely fantastic. I couldnt understand half of what his guests were mumbling about.
Chavs are way uglier and scarier than bogans
The rest of the TV was about as poor as it is in Australia
I avoided going into London and its horrors, which was probably a good thing
The cross country trains are great, they go everywhere, and they serve beer
People looked a lot more unhealthy and shorter in the UK than they are in Australia. Particularly in Scotland.

paddyo

lol.....that'll be right!

kmthor

i also went back in July first time in 17 years i was told all the horror stories and was expecting the worse. we spent most of our time in the south west we spent a week in London.

this is how i saw it

Food was cheap and variety was amazing
The big supermarkets were great
Clothes were cheap and better quality
Electronics were more expensive
tourist things were expensive
London looked great
Tube was excellent and cheap (weekly pass)
buses were fun and never waited more than 5 mins
accommodation was cheap
eating out was cheap and generally good quality
food portions were massive
pubs were pleasant and ale was very nice
drivers were better by a long shot
parking was expensive
motorway were good
minor roads seemed very narrow
to many people in London
car hire was cheap
lots and lots of gum on the floor in London

all in all i was very impressed with the UK a specially as i was told of the horror stories before i left

just a by the by we also spent 10 days in Paris and in my opinion it has gone down hill big time.

km

moneypenny20

Never been a fan of Paris. Always found it grubby, overpriced and a bit bleugh to be honest. Never understood the 'city of romance' thing either. Anywhere's romantic if it's holiday, you and a significant other and hormones are raging.

paddyo

lol...I'm with you there MP!!!

Beoz

.... it's the moderate tan and less skin irritations that give the bogan the edge

Vicksy G

I needed a good laugh today, this cracked me up!

CindyHelens

Oh yeah... and how about some cultural differences between Australia and England... are there any changes yet?